Recycling at St Paulus School – a community project made real

Do you sometimes talk about doing something good for your community, or contributing something positive to the world around you? Well, Peter Velcich of V&L Landscape Architects ‘walks the talk’ and puts the rest of us to shame…

In 2009, Peter, a parent of two at St Paulus Primary School in Pretoria, became involved in the design and construction of a real life community project on a pro-bono basis.

This project, which entailed the development of a recycling collection point or ‘Recycling Village’ at the school, began with a vision to design more than just a drop off point for recyclable waste, but to create something that would educate and inspire as well.

The design of the Village aims to elucidate key environmental issues such as sustainability, energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation:

• The windmill represents the harvesting of wind power. Although this does not actually pump water, plans are to connect it to a dynamo to provide electricity to light the village.

• The ‘leaf roof’, which is based on biomimicry (i.e. mimicking nature in design), harvests rain water and feeds it into a collection tank so that it can be used for irrigating the landscape.

• The use of xerophytes and other indigenous species represents the environmentally responsible choice of using plant material with low water requirements.

• The use of bottles, natural stone, broken bricks and tiles, timber lattes and old car tyres in the construction of the village represents the primary principle of sustainability – the reuse of materials.

In the paving, V&L has incorporated elements of the trophic triangle into the design using various materials. These elements of air, water, earth, plants, animals and humans are represented as interlinked in the circular design of the paving. This concept illustrates that all these elements are interdependent, and most importantly, that we as humans are reliant on these elements for our survival.

The parents, learners and staff of the school were largely responsible for the construction, and with the aid of various corporate and private sponsors, V&L were able to design and oversee the implementation of a R300 000 facility at no cost to the school!

The Recycling Village is now fully operational, and is managed by a volunteer committee of mothers who oversee the collection, sorting and storage of about 7,6t of plastic, glass, paper and tins each month. It operates at no cost to the school, with revenue generation from the recycling of materials as a secondary benefit.

Thursday mornings are ‘Recycling Day’ at St Paulus, where the learners are encouraged to bring recyclable material from home and to sort this and deposit the items in the correct bins. The learners accumulate recycling points and work together as classes towards the ultimate term prize - free pizzas from the local Mimmos Pizzeria.

Future extension plans include a wormery for the production of compost, a vegetable garden and a small amphitheatre, so Peter’s work is not done yet…